Operation Cuarenta

Operation Cuarenta (11 July 1969) was a clandestine CIA operation that saw a detachment of CIA-backed Cuban exiles be landed on the shores of Cuba with the goal of dismantling a Cuban missile launching station. The Cuban exiles managed to land on the shoreline with the assistance of US Air Force bomber planes, which provided heavy ordinance to help the anti-communist rebels. The Tropas would ultimately pin the rebels down on the beachhead, and the rebels were attacked by both soldiers and attack dogs. During the battle, the Cubans downed an American counter-spy plane with an M72 LAW launcher, and the Cuban exiles were forced to return home without success.